


High Ideas

by Zrttr



Series: Who am I when we are apart? [3]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Drugs bring out honesty, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:55:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26033047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zrttr/pseuds/Zrttr
Summary: When thinking on it, Piper usually considered herself the most adventurous of her friend group. Well, maybe Leo was more, but Piper still liked to think that she was relatively experienced, her age considered. But Annabeth, of all people, debunked this assumption when she invited Piper to smoke weed in her apartment in New York during Labor Day.Rated M for use of illicit drugs.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Jason Grace/Piper McLean
Series: Who am I when we are apart? [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1890913
Comments: 8
Kudos: 14





	High Ideas

**Author's Note:**

> I really like Piper and Annabeth's relationship, because they're both girls with a lot of insecurity, who could really ehlp each other overcome them. Also, please read this with an open mind.

When thinking on it, Piper usually considered herself the most adventurous of her friend group. Well, maybe Leo was more, but Piper still liked to think that she was relatively experienced, her age considered. But Annabeth, of all people, debunked this assumption when she invited Piper to smoke weed in her apartment in New York during Labor Day. 

Piper was almost thirty years old, and except from some flirtatious complements thrown her way by Connor Stoll when he was high, she never had any contact with marijuana, and she definitely didn’t expect any of her friends to have either. Frank and Jason were too law abiding to even consider it; Hazel and Nico were literally born in the first half of the 20th century; Leo’s mind was already too uncontrollable without any outside help. But, although she now regretted her bigotry, when she met Percy for the first time, he had seemed like the stereotypical high school drug dealer: sly smile and willingness to bend the rules, good looks that draw you win, and, like Leo, he had a less privileged financial background than his peers. 

Percy completely shattered her prejudice, though, and, as far she knew, he had never even tried it. So, Piper kind of just assumed that no one in her social circle had either. That’s why she was so flabbergasted when Annabeth sent her a text message inviting her over, and after a few minutes sent another saying simply: “I got some weed’. 

Overtime, Annabeth and Piper had learned to trust one another, and share their insecurities, so the daughter of Aphrodite knew Annabeth hadn’t called her only because she was the only one of the seven in Camp Half-Blood at the time. Piper had been among the first people to be told about Percy’s departure. Annabeth had gathered the crew of the Argo II, along with some important members of both camps, and spilled the fact that Percy would be leaving to join the Armed Forces. That’s how she was sure that Annabeth hadn’t even touched a joint in her life before, because the daughter of Athena would have called to tell her about it. But that meant this would be the first time, and there was probably some reason behind it. 

The travel from Long Island took her almost two hours to complete, because of New York’s hellish traffic. If someone is willing to go through the hustle of finding a parking slot in Manhattan to hang out, you can be absolutely sure they love you. Due to that, the walk from Piper’s car to Annabeth’s apartment block was pretty long, and when she was finally reached her friend’s doorstep, the Summer heat and exercise were working together to make Piper sweat like a pig. 

After knocking a couple times, Piper had the door opened for her and immediately stormed in, hanging her coat on a chair and collapsing on the couch. Annabeth slouched on it beside her, and she finally got a good look at the daughter of Athena. Her blonde hair was paler, the bags under her eyes were even bigger than usual, and there was just an emptiness in them that Piper knew could only be caused by one thing: Perseus Jackson. 

-What happened? 

-Oh, nothing, I only missed being in awe of your beauty, Piper. That’s all. -Annabeth let out a slight chuckle when she was done digging at Piper’s most hated nickname. 

-Cut the crap, Annabeth. For 21st century standards, you’re a prude, and you hate not having control of your thoughts, so I know that this drive to try out weed isn’t spontaneous. What happened? 

The blonde closed her eyes, clearly tired, and laid on the couch, with her head rested on the its arm. 

-The reason why I decided to try marijuana is because, just today, I wanted to think a little less. I wanted my head to be cleared of thoughts, for once. Gods, I think my mom would consider this sacrilege. 

They both laughed at that, but Piper soon shut herself up and let Annabeth continue. 

-Percy is back in US soil for the first time in five years. 

-Holy shit. When did he come back? 

-A few weeks ago. Nico went to pick him up at the airport in LA. I wish I could get mad at him for not telling me he was coming back, but, quite frankly, I don’t have the right to do that. People who you haven’t talked to for half a decade aren’t entitled to know about your life. 

-What are you going to do about it? 

-Right now? I’ll hit a joint for the first time in my life to try and forget about my ex for some forty-five minutes. 

-Is it enough for both of us? -Piper asked with a playful tone. She wouldn’t let a friend go through this important moment alone. 

Annabeth stood up and headed to her room, leaving Piper waiting on the couch. After a few minutes, she came back with fist-sized plastic bag full of pot. She then looked around the apartment, as if trying to find something. Then she came back with last week’s edition of the New York Times. 

-A child of Demeter owed me a favor, and I asked him to do this for me in complete secrecy. 

By this point, Piper was sitting on the stiff as a board, and feeling a bit giddy. With the joint ready, Annabeth took a lighter from the kitchen and flipped the switch. She slowly drew the fire closer, until the tip of the cigarette was on fire. Annabeth wrapped her lips around it and drew in a breath, which was followed by coughs, sobs and somewhat hysterical laughter from Piper. 

-Are you really laughing, McLean? Why don’t you try it yourself? 

Half an hour later, they were sitting on the floor, leaning on each other’s backs. The weed changed from hand to hand every few minutes, and, somehow, they were managing to talk about everything and nothing at the same time. 

-You know, sometimes I overthink the things I do, because I worry about what other people would think. I act a lot like I don’t, but I actually kind of really, really do. - The words escaped Piper’s lips with an unimaginable ease. 

-I think I get that. I hate to feel like I’m disappointing. Percy always told me that I didn’t have to feel like that, that I didn’t owe anything to anyone. And when he said it, it felt like he was being honest. But I still felt like I really needed to prove myself. I still feel like I need to prove myself. He used to do that so much, worry about what I needed, that I kind of forgot to wonder about what he wanted. 

-What do you mean? 

-I don’t think I ever asked him what he wanted to do for a living. When we were in battle, I was always kind of in awe of his power. I almost never thought of what Percy, the person, wanted, until it was too late. 

To emphasize what she said, Annabeth drew in an especially large amount of smoke, and handed the joint to her. 

-Sometimes I try to figure out what Jason wants, and try really hard to be that for him. But, somehow, things always go wrong, and we both end up sad about it. 

They remained silent for a few seconds before Annabeth spoke. 

-You and Percy are very alike in that aspect. It always felt like my wishes guided the relationship. Percy never asked for anything, pretty much never wanted anything. Hell, whenever a blowjob happened it was more because I wanted to do it than him to have it done to him. -They both laughed at that, and Annabeth continued. - I can’t lie, my reaction when he told me about what he wanted to do for the rest of his life was not good. Not good at all. 

Piper stayed silent. Annabeth had never described what exactly happened in her discussion with Percy. It was pretty much a mystery to everyone, since no one had the guts to ask her anything if she didn’t talk about it first. So, Piper gathered some high courage and asked: 

-What exactly happened that day? 

Annabeth looked at her quizzically. She seemed to ponder what would Piper’s reaction be, before taking the weed from her hand and smoking a bit. After a few minutes of silence, Annabeth spoke: 

-It was the day just after our graduation. I thought that was going to be the first step to the completion of my plan. I was going to start a really good internship in an architecture firm, and Percy was going to start teaching at the local kindergarten. But he said he needed to speak with me. We were there on the couch, and he said it. He said, without sugarcoating, “I enlisted in the army”. I froze. But then, I got pissed. I got pissed because he didn’t say “I’m thinking about joining the army”. He didn’t want us to talk about it. He was just giving me a warning. I couldn’t believe that he was doing that to our plans, and I said it...- she inhaled more smoke from the joint- Then he threw it at my face: they were never “our plans”. They were my plans. Even his job as a teacher was something that I suggested. And he said that the college years, the ones that had been pretty much the best of my life, were actually shit for him. 

-Gods... 

-Yeah, I know. I just thought: “After the years I spent waiting for my dad to want me; years waiting for a mission; years waiting to be acknowledged by you; you want me to sit here and wait for you to come back, like some wife from World War II?”. 

Piper didn’t say anything. It had become clear that this was one of those rare moments when Annabeth decided to open herself up, and she smoked a little more before doing so. 

-Only a few after months after he left, did it dawn on me: I was asking him to do the same thing. I wanted him to stay here and live a miserable life as my sidekick, staying put while I pursue the things I want from life. 

By that point, the conversation had taken on a dark turn. Piper wouldn’t be able to tell how much time they spent just sitting there after that line, not saying anything, but when Annabeth stood up and offered her hand, Piper’s butt was sore. 

-Gods damn it, I’m starving. - the blonde said, while looking yearningly to the fridge in the kitchen. 

-Yeah, me too. 

Piper took Annabeth's hand and got up, following her friend. They both looked around for a bit, but that was Annabeth’s house, and if UberEATS stopped working for a week, she’d starve. So, Piper opened the refrigerator, grabbed the ice cream pot she knew was going to be there, because, again, that was Annabeth's house, and grabbed two spoons from the kitchen counter. Once they were eating, the effect from the weed was already kind of wearing out, but Piper still found the courage to ask one thing: 

-If you went back in time, would you do it differently? 

-Maybe, I don’t know... 

-Well, most of his family and friends are on the East Coast, but he still chose LA as his vacation spot. You’re clearly the reason why, which means he hasn't gotten over you. I happen to have a friend who owns a flying dragon, and could take you to Camp Jupiter pretty quick.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. Comments and constuctive criticism are appreciated. :)


End file.
